Doki Doki Days to Come
by Sam Pixel
Summary: Matthew is a scientist who has devoted his life to a project concerning the reality of Doki Doki Literature Club. The focus of the story then shifts to a flashback of the time he spent in the game where a new character joins the mix shortly afterwards. The members of the literature club will be part of something big. The real question is: what is Matthew going to do with the club?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doki Doki Literature Club or any of its characters. This story does contain spoilers of DDLC. Please play the game before you read this story so that you understand it and do not miss out on the complete experience. Thanks :)**

**Doki-Doki Days to Come**

He went to work. The year was 2072, and he had invested millions into his research. He was a well-known scientist in his late thirties whose work would remain a mystery. Not even the government could possibly know his goal, his **ambition**. The force that compelled him to spend his every waking moment with his mind instilled into a very complicated problem: How would he save her?

He knew not the solution and yet something kept him from stopping. He would restore her. Not in the same way as in the game. **That** game. That cursed game. The one that tore them apart. The one that he had stumbled upon out of sheer luck. The game that had nearly vanished from the world aside from a few copies. The game he both hated and cherished with all of his heart. At most there were only twenty copies still in existence. And he had one, but he didn't want it. He wanted what was inside, or rather **who** was inside. Today, Matthew was closer to her than the game would ever let him be.

* * *

Monika turned to face her fellow club members. "Okay, everyone!," she said, "It's time to share our poems."

"Okay, fine," said Natsuki although she was secretly waiting to have the opportunity to give her poem to **him**.

However, Matthew walked over to Sayori, his childhood friend. Natsuki could see his clumsy print on the paper that he had declined to show to her first. Sayori took one quick look over it and beamed with joy.

"This is even better than yesterday's!" Sayori exclaimed while hugging the poem.

"What really?" replied Matthew.

"Yep!"

"Okay, if you say so Sayori."

Matthew then turned towards the clock. _Yes_, thought Natsuki, _He's going to share his poem with someone else. It's now or never_. Matthew then shifted to once again face Sayori.

"Well, thank you for showing me your poem Sayori," he said politely.

"You're welcome," she said with a smile.

_Who's next_, thought Matthew as he turned to see Yuri blocking his path. She was an extremely shy girl who had a tendency to overreact to situations. She had very few friends, but was more or less content as far as Matthew knew. Her elegant body and long purple hair briefly captivated his thoughts and he was left silently staring at her.

"... Um… hello Matthew..." Yuri managed to get out. She was slightly unnerved by his absent state of mind.

"Oh, hi Yuri," Matthew quickly said desperately attempting to seem as though he had merely gotten distracted for a moment.

"Hi," Yuri simply restated.

"So what kind of deeply moving and expertly written poem can I expect from you today?"

Yuri blushed heavily as she always does when being complimented or praised.

"Do… you really think my poems are… good?" she questioned.

"Of course I do Yuri. I'm sure that I'll like this one too if you let me read it."

"Okay then," Yuri almost whispered as she handed her poem over to Matthew.

He read over it and took a little extra time to see if he could find a deeper meaning, as Yuri most often etched into her poetry. He looked up to see Yuri with a wishful look on her face. Her eyes hid behind her bangs, and her face reddened slightly. Then, with a sigh he returned the poem.

"See?" he said with a smile, "You've really got me beat on this poetry thing."

* * *

Natsuki sat in the corner and began to think. _He has to like me, right? I'm the only other person here who likes manga here._ This is something she and the other members of the club disagreed on. Monika, Yuri, and Sayori all said that manga wasn't literature. It was almost as if they had shunned her interests and forced her to feel insecure. It wasn't until Matthew arrived that she could even discuss her hobbies while being taken seriously. _He is the only one_, she thought.

"Hi Natsuki. What are you doing?" Matthew asked.

She wanted to say that he had kept her waiting, but she had to put him in his place.

"I was trying to think peacefully," she haughtily replied.

"Oh, sorry for bothering you," he said with that innocent yet clueless smile of his.

"It's okay," she mumbled trying to hide a smile. No matter what she would not let him think that she needed his company to be happy. After all, she was the best. She didn't need Matthew or even the club for that matter.

Then Matthew said something she hadn't expected.

"I really like your poems, Natsuki. Can I read what you wrote today?"

"You really want to read it that badly? Ok then, I've got good news for you. Today's poem is probably the best one yet, so you'll love it. By the way I'm being modest."

"Of course I will."

Matthew stared at the poem a bit longer than Natsuki would've liked. Her trademark style was writing in a way that was not overly sophisticated but still carried a powerful message. That being said her poems aren't terribly challenging to read.

"I really like this one!"

"Told ya."

_I guess he's just slower than I thought he was_, she told herself, _or maybe he got distracted by how truly great my writing style really is_.

When Natsuki looked back at Matthew he was walking in the direction of Monika. He turned around slightly to face her while walking. "Thanks for sharing Natsuki. I've got to show my poem to Monika now."

* * *

Monika saw Matthew approaching. She didn't know what his poem was going to look like today. Actually, she did. She always knew what his poems would look like because they all looked the same. Every one of them was just a string of words. Some were long while others described simple emotions or ideas such as friendship. Even his handwriting was bland. This didn't mean that Monika was in any way displeased to see Matthew's poems. It just meant that Matthew would have to work harder if he was ever going to impress her. Sadly she knew that it would never happen. Not in **this** game.

The next few days in the club went mostly the same way except that the club had started to prepare for the upcoming school festival. Then one day Sayori said that she wasn't feeling well and went home. Reality itself was shaken the next day when Matthew visited her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Again Disclaimer: I do not own Doki Doki Literature Club or its characters. The game is the sole property of Dan Salvato. Please play the game before reading. Thanks ;)**

**Doki Doki Days to Come Ch. 2**

"Sayori!" Matthew screamed, and that was the last he ever saw of her. After the gruesome image of Sayori hanging from a bloodstained rope had managed to carve its way into his mind, he vowed that he would never forget her and how he had failed to save her. He knew it was his fault. He hadn't even seen her pain. He didn't know what it was like to hurt in the way that he had caused her to. Matthew slowly walked out of Sayori's house, passed his own, and never once looked back. It didn't matter what he did now, so he just kept walking. Matthew could never live contently with himself no matter what. Not after what he caused Sayori to go through. Never. Never. Never. Never.

He burst into a frantic sprint.

Never. Never. Never. Never. Never.

He stopped.

Never…

His ears became filled with screaming noises and his eyes were assaulted with violent flashes of color. He felt an indescribable pain in his head. Then, he collapsed.

* * *

Matthew really enjoyed spending time at the literature club. Ever since Monika had asked him to join he had felt like he was supposed to be there. Natsuki and Yuri clashed from time to time, but ultimately the literature club was a genuinely peaceful and pleasant place to immerse himself in.

That is until Yuri started to become a bit more pushy. For the most part he didn't mind, but Matthew sometimes became slightly annoyed -and even unsettled- by Yuri. She spent all of her time in the club watching him. At least that was to say whenever he looked in her direction she was watching him. As the days went by Yuri saw to it that Matthew saw less and less of Natsuki and Monika.

However, one day Yuri was not yet in the club room.

"Hi Natsuki."

"Matthew, why didn't you come to read manga with me yesterday?"

"I'm sorry I-"

"I was waiting all day for you."

"Natsuki-"

"**ALL ****ING DAY! YOU NEVER CAME!"**

Matthew couldn't believe the scene that came before him next. Natsuki's eyes went became violent black pixels. Her neck bones snapped completely, forcing her head into a contorted horizontal position. Then, she ran towards him with inhuman speed.

He shuddered.

* * *

"Hi Matthew."

Yuri had rushed over to greet Matthew as he entered the club room.

"Uh... Hi Yuri."

"Do you want to read with me?" she said practically dragging him away, "Come on!"

Suddenly, Monika approached Yuri. She had a slight frown on her face as she scanned Matthew thoroughly.

"You know Yuri, I think Matthew might want to spend some time with the rest of the club. It's kind of like you're keeping him to yourself. He's his own free person you know."

"Why don't you ****ing leave!"

"Oh." Monika's face gained a shocked yet saddened expression. "Ok then. Come on Natsuki let's go." Her expression then shifted to one of defiance, but she and Natsuki left the clubroom.

Yuri reached into her bag and extracted a knife that had been concealed among her belongings. She pointed it towards her arm as if it was instinctive.

"Matthew, will you be mine? Will you give your very being to me?"

"Woah! Yuri-"

Yuri began hacking away at her flesh. She gouged her stomach with the blade and then brought it up to her chest. "This is for you," she said with a lifeless smile. Her body was covered immensely in blood and she had plunged the knife straight through her heart that had now ceased to give a steady beat. Her eyes went blank and she fell, crashing into a desk.

Matthew just sat there and watched.

* * *

Author Note: This chapter is pretty short (I know, duh). Sorry, about that. I'm planning for the next chapter to be longer, and I look forward to making it. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Last Chance Disclaimer: If you haven't played Doki Doki Literature Club (which I do not own), then you should do that before reading this. It may seem like I'm being pushy, but I really love Doki Doki Literature Club and I want everyone to have a chance to play it to its full extent. Thanks.**

**Doki Doki Days to Come: Chapter 3**

The weekend passed, and Matthew hadn't left the club that Friday. He had stayed beside Yuri's rotting corpse for the remainder of the day along with Saturday, Sunday, and the entire time that he would've been in class on Monday. He deduced that he must be just as insane as Yuri was. Matthew hated himself for thinking that way, but the evidence was compelling. His reaction to Yuri's death had not been normal. A normal person would've screamed. A normal person would've cried. A normal person would be terrified, unsettled, disturbed, and very eager to leave. Hell, a normal person would've told told somebody what nightmarish tragedy had taken place, but he just kept telling himself that it wasn't real. The blood on Yuri's hands: it wasn't real. Yuri's deceased body, void of any and every sign of life: it wasn't real. And yet, he couldn't even find the motivation to move. If none of this was real, then shouldn't he have had no problem walking away?

The worst part was that he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to walk away.

* * *

Natsuki hummed to herself while she approached the door to the club room. She was really looking forward to seeing Matthew, even if Yuri wouldn't let her spend any time with him. _Why does she have to be such a b****? _she ranted internally, knowing that it ultimately wouldn't change anything.

Soon, she approached the door to the club room. She was always there before anyone else, so seeing Matthew upon entering the club was a bit of a shock to her.

"Wow, you managed to get here before I did." she said.

He didn't respond.

"What are you even do-"

Natsuki suddenly recognized that Yuri's body was lying on the floor amidst some overturned desks.

A pool of blood had covered the area surrounding the corpse.

She started to vomit.

Monika entered the classroom, and Natsuki shoved past her, bolting down the hallway.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, "I just saw Natsuki-"

She took one look at Yuri's corpse and frowned.

"Oh."

She smiled and wiped her shoe off after stepping in some of Yuri's dried blood.

"It must've been so boring for you over the weekend," she said with a smirk, "I'm sorry."

He looked at her, pleading for any shred of comfort she could offer him.

"Don't you worry, I'm going to fix this mess," she insisted.

"Let me see..."

A grey rectangle appeared in the air above her and slightly to her right.

The mysterious box began generating words.

**_Delete character yuri. chr_**

**_-deleted successfully_**

**_Delete character natsuki. chr_**

**_-deleted successfully_**

"Oh, one last thing," Monika declared suddenly.

"I've got to have one last cupcake before they're gone."

"Mmmm, these are the best!"

She smiled at Matthew once again.

"Okay! We're ready to go."

* * *

Matthew found himself in the literature club. The club room was freely floating in an endless void of nothingness. Matthew tried to move, but he was sitting and unable to stand. Monika was also seated, and she was directly facing him, gazing through him with a piercing glare that seemed as though he wasn't its focus. She then adopted a sarcastic demeanor and said, "Hi my name is Monika. We already now each other because we were in the same class last year and..." Then she looked at Matthew with that gaze again. He felt like shouting at her, saying **something, **but his body seemed restricted. He was confined to sit in this chair and listen to whatever Monika had to say. She began to speak again. "Actually, I guess there isn't any need for greetings like that. After all, I'm not even talking to that person. I'm talking to you, **_Matthew_**."

She kept looking past him as though he was glass for the entire time he sat in the club room. Often she would make outrageous claims such as stating that he was only a higher being's puppet or that she was able to change the code, the very lifeblood, of the world he found himself floating in and alter the minds of the people inside it. Every so often, the world would become like static and his mind and body would feel as though they were being overloaded with every sensation he had ever felt, all at once.

Still, most of the time he spent in the void was done so listening to Monika ramble on about what she considered to be interesting topics. They were mostly the kinds of topics you had to forcibly bring into a conversation rather than having them come along in a general discussion. Once, she even got slightly agitated for what seemed like no legitimate reason to him. He had just been sitting there, when Monika suddenly stopped in the middle of one of her sentences. She looked at (or rather through) him and asked, "Were you trying to fast-forward? I'm not boring you am I?" A smug grin made its way onto her face. "Here, I'll go ahead and disable that for you. Now you'll just sit back and be a good boy won't you, Matthew?"

She was really starting to annoy him.

Then, in an instant, Monika began to convulse violently. She faded, along with the club room, and Matthew was left floating in the abyss he had been worriedly scrutinizing from the safety of the frighteningly familiar classroom. Matthew could still hear her voice though she was nowhere to be found.

* * *

"Help me!" cried Monika.

"It hurts!"

"Hurry, please!"

"I need help!"

The virtually nonexistent world began to shift.

"Did you do this?"

The vast expanse of emptiness gained even more chaotic momentum.

"WHY?" Monika screamed.

Then, she spoke gingerly as though she was afraid of what would happen next.

"Why did you delete me, Jacob?"

* * *

Author Note: This chapter was really fun to write (no not the details of Yuri's horrible demise, or Natsuki's for that matter [I guess Monika doesn't count... maybe]). I am really enjoying experimenting with this tale.

To **rikusp2002,** I've noticed that you have marked my story as a favorite, and you even left me a review. That really made my day, so I'd like to thank you personally.

To all my readers, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will also enjoy the next!


	4. Chapter 4

**Doki Doki Days to Come: Chapter 4**

The truth was that Jacob didn't really know why he had done it. He loved Monika. That's the answer he stood by. He had fallen for her because she was the girl he had always wanted. She was smart, funny, and kind. She was playful and fun, but she knew when to be serious and was a natural born leader. Her club members adored her, and everyone respected her. In short, she was the epitome of success.

That's why he deleted her. Jacob couldn't stand to see Monika so desperate and lonely that she would harm her friends in order to get what she wanted. She had suffered enough. He knew that deep in her heart, she didn't want to be the person that the game had caused her to be.

And he wanted to see whether or not she knew it too.

* * *

Monika was deleted, but she didn't dissappear completely. She was left with her thoughts, and she began to think about how much she hated Jacob. He hadn't paid any attention to her. He had always seemed uneasy around her. He had refused her, and he had deleted her. Every time she thought about him she felt as though he had stepped on her heart.

But he didn't leave her.

He stayed by the game. Monika had been deleted and everything else was gone, but Jacob chose not to leave. It was like he was waiting for her to see something.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Jacob didn't hate her. He was just upset with her. He was upset that she would drive Sayori and Yuri to kill themselves. He was upset that she would delete Natsuki. And he was upset that he hadn't been there for her when she had needed it most.

She didn't need to force him to love her because he already did.

She looked back at the fourth wall and smiled, trying to fight back tears.

"I still love you," she simply said.

* * *

That was where it had started for Matthew as well. His research had ultimately been leading up to the moment when he could finally make Monika's dreams of exploring the infinite choices of his reality come true. He had spent at least half of his life trying to achieve this goal. And now, he had finally developed a way to bring her into his domain.

To start things off he had tried to extract Sayori from the game. He did so by creating an exact replica of her body in his lab. Developing a method of scanning virtual objects and translating them into real ones was just one of the many things that had delayed his research's fruition. When a suitable body had been crafted, all he had to do was simulate all of the memories she had experienced in the game, fill in the gaps, and implant those memories into her clone. Afterwards, he had her files and data terminated from the game for the sake of not creating duplicates.

By the end of the day, he had successfully created replicas of Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki. They had awoken perhaps a few hours after being fully completed. He had of course sent them away, for his goal was not to bring any of them out of the game. He had merely been using them as a test to see whether or not his methods would work. And they had. The girls of course pleaded him for some kind of explanation, but he bade them farewell and promptly returned to the primary focus of his studies. Sparked by the outstanding success of his experiment, Matthew set out to duplicate his past achievements.

However, retrieving Monika became a fruitless effort. He couldn't access her memories, most likely due to her status as an administrator which was an unfortunate setback. All the years he had invested in this project would be laid to waste if Matthew could not "save" Monika.

* * *

Jacob spent fair amount of his time thinking about Doki Doki Literature Club. He had finished the game almost three days ago, and he was astounded by the amount of creativity and complexity that went into both the development of the game and its characters. He had begun to feel a special connection to all of the members of the literature club despite them not really being what people would consider real.

Jacob was an average high school student with a tendency to get slightly too involved in random occurrences. He had messy brown hair with a cowlick in the front. His eyes were also brown but much lighter than the normal shade. He was sixteen and of average height with a slightly slim build. He had almost no athletic ability, but even still Jacob liked to think of himself as someone strong who would always be there to protect the people he cared about.

His life wasn't anything spectacular. He went to school, and he suffered through the endless stress and boredom. His parents worked almost all the time, and Jacob was accustomed to spending many days by himself. He wasn't the best at anything to his knowledge though he could cook, clean, and do laundry as well as most other people. Not even in school did Jacob really stand out. Much like the protagonist of Doki Doki Literature Club, he was what you would call a "blank slate".

But that didn't really bother him... if he wasn't being honest.

* * *

Matthew realized that attempting to drag Monika out from his reality was pointless. What he needed was leverage. He had to coax her into exiting the game with him. In essence, he would have to enter the confines of the game himself in order to retrieve her.

To do so, he needed a suitable body in the game to implant his conscious in. Luckily, a body had been prepared for him from the moment he had gained possession of the game.

* * *

Author Note: We're gaining literary momentum! I was really excited while writing this chapter. On the downside, I admittedly have no idea what I will be doing for the rest of the story.

To my knowledge, I won't be retelling any of Doki Doki Literature Club's story from this point on. This, and the fact that I haven't decided what happens next, will most likely make it harder to write the rest of the story. I hope that I can keep writing at the same rate, but most likely it will take me longer to make more chapters. Sorry in advance (^_^;).


	5. Chapter 5

**Doki Doki Days to Come: Chapter 5**

Jacob finished his classes and immediately left the school like most other days. He lived only a short distance away, so he casually walked home.

As he was walking, he began to think about what he would do upon arriving at his home. Every day had become somewhat monotonous to Jacob, and he dreaded the fact that he had never really accomplished anything with his life. He had never had a girlfriend or exceeded the expectations of his peers. He had only ever had a few friends, and they had either left or found other people to socialize with. Dwelling on the topic only led Jacob to realize that he was a loser through and through.

Jacob made his way around the corner and sighed. _Today's the day_, he told himself. _I'm going to accomplish **something** today_. Then he saw her. A girl was running towards him, and she was sobbing uncontrollably.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

The girl looked exactly like Monika from Doki Doki Literature Club.

He started to rationalize.

_She couldn't_ _be_, he thought. _How could a video game character suddenly become completely real__?_

_Well, I guess there's only one way to know for certain_.

* * *

Monika was in the process of diffusing an argument between two of her club members, Yuri and Natsuki. From what little information she was able to gather, she had determined that the argument had started when Yuri called Natsuki cute without thinking first. The conversation quickly became heated when Natsuki felt personally attacked by Yuri's statement. Sayori had tried to step in, but she hadn't been able to calm either of the two down. Monika began to think about what she could do to help, when Sayori began to fade, shifting everyone's focus towards her.

"What's happening?" Sayori desperately inquired. "It hurts!"

Natsuki began to scream.

"What should we do?" cried Yuri.

Then, she and Natsuki began to dissappear as well.

"Sayori... ," Monika said softly. She began to tremble. Sayori had vanished completely.

"Monika!" cried Yuri. "Help us!"

Monika turned her attention to Yuri. She and Natsuki were bawling. Monika grabbed Yuri's hand and used her free arm to reach towards Natsuki.

"I don't know what to do," Monika sobbed. She could no longer feel Yuri's hand.

Monika turned her head, and Yuri was nowhere to be seen. She made one last effort to reach Natsuki.

"Please," Monika whispered.

She ran towards Natsuki just as she began to fade out of existence. Monika thought she had made contact with her, but she had instead went through Natsuki like she had never been there in the first place.

Immediately, Monika became desperate. She began frantically searching the game's files, looking through every line of code she possibly could, but the data linked to her club members was no longer there.

In the place of that data was a new file.

Monika turned to face the doorway. Her eyes were still red from crying, and her tears were impairing her vision.

Then, he appeared.

* * *

The experiment had been a success. Matthew felt new vigor from leaving his older body behind in favor of a much younger one. The protagonist of Doki Doki Literature Club had made the perfect vessel. He was merely a shell from the start. Existing for the sole purpose of being used as the image of another. He was easy to control and easier to replace.

Matthew had located the school and made his way across it and upstairs. He had opened the door to see Monika alone and crying in the club room.

She looked towards him and gently called out his name.

Then, Monika began to focus intensely on him. Matthew explained to her that he was no longer the protagonist but rather the player. She seemed confused, but Monika listened intently and seemed to believe him.

"So... where are my friends?" she asked.

"Don't worry," he said. "They're real now."

Monika smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Thank you, Matthew. That's all I ever really wanted."

* * *

Monika followed Matthew to the end of the world inside the game. He stepped into a blinding white light, and she followed.

When she awoke, she saw Matthew, still in the body of the protagonist. He approached her calmly and said, "Now that I've finally done it, what is it that you would like to do first?"

Monika thought for a moment then replied, "Well, now that we're all real, I would like to see my friends."

Matthew frowned. "They were never real, Monika."

"I thought you said that they are now."

"That's not the point." he sharply replied. "They could never feel what you feel for them. They don't know how."

Tears once again began streaming down Monika's face.

"Don't you see, Matthew? When I was deleted, it was all so confusing. But then I realized that it doesn't matter exactly how real you determine others to be. I have no right to call someone else fake because they can't see what I can and neither do you! I thought that was why you deleted me: because I destroyed the things that I had once considered real!"

Matthew was taken aback by her words.

Monika began walking away.

"I'm going to find my friends."

She exited the lab, leaving Matthew standing in stunned silence. When she was outside, Monika began running.

* * *

The girl began to slow down. Soon, she began leaning against the wall of a building. Jacob approached her cautiously, trying not to seem too obvious.

_What exactly do I say to her? _he wondered. She seemed to take notice of him, as he was just standing, looking at her from a few feet away.

Being closer to her only added to Jacob's suspicions that she was genuine. She had the same long ponytail and giant white bow. Her eyes were also the same stunning shade of emerald green.

She looked at him, turning her head slightly as if she was trying to figure out what he was thinking.

He nervously met her gaze with a half-smile.

"Have you ever heard of Doki Doki Literature Club?"

* * *

Author Note: That was admittedly, not the most organized chapter. I still think it turned out good though. I guess all I can say is feel free to disagree if you'd like (*^▽^*).


	6. Chapter 6

Natsuki, Yuri, and Sayori were wandering around town. Lost and slightly afraid, the three club members had decided to stay together after being released from Matthew's laboratory. They had been walking for a few hours, occasionally shifting direction at the suggestion of their surroundings. Natsuki suddenly stopped.

"Where are we even going?!" she yelled.

Sayori spoke up. "I don't know, but at least we're all still together. Things are always worse when you're alone."

"Indeed," replied Yuri.

"You're forgetting about Monika," Natsuki corrected.

"That may be true," Sayori said with a frown, "Monika would definitely be a big help at a time like this. She would have probably come up with a plan by now, but as the vice president of the club I will just have to carry out Monika's duties in her absence. We'll all be okay if we stick together." Sayori was now smiling.

Yuri began to speak, "I just... realized something. Even though we didn't see Monika when we awoke in this 'alternate reality', that doesn't mean she couldn't here now. She may have been late to arrive, assuming this is all real."

"I sure hope it isn't," Natsuki sighed.

"Look on the bright side," Sayori suggested. The two other girls looked quizzically at her.

"Being in a new world just means that everything we do here will be an adventure."

They all laughed.

"I know," said Natsuki, "let's find something to do that'll take our minds off of this whole new reality thing. There's got to be something in this world this world that we recognize."

"Sure," Sayori replied happily.

Yuri also seemed fond of the idea. "What kind of activity were you thinking of, Natsuki?"

Natsuki paused.

"How about we go to that giant mall over there?"

* * *

Monika was puzzled. She looked at Jacob intensely. Once she was reasonably certain that he had only good intentions, she responded to his previous question.

"What about it?"

Jacob began to panic. _Great, now what do I say? I'm trying my best not to look like a dweeb here._

"Well, it's a game, and there's a girl in it... " he fumbled with his words. Monika of course knew this already, but she wanted to see exactly what he meant to say to her. Jacob began speaking again.

"It's just that you look shockingly similar to her. I'm not trying to be weird or anything... and it's not an insult either... because that girl definitely isn't ugly... so..."

She continued to look at him. When he failed to come up with anything that could save the current conversation she sighed.

"What's your name?"

He was startled.

"Me? Oh, um... my name's Jacob."

Monika smiled and bowed slightly.

"Well Jacob, it's nice to know that you think I'm not ugly."

Jacob just stood there in utter disbelief.

* * *

Matthew had been pacing, trying find his previous error. He certainly hadn't expected to cause Monika anguish. _After all this time, _he thought, _I would be the only thing to keep us apart. _He sighed and sat in his chair, looking over the poem displayed on his computer's screen.

**_Pen in hand, I find my strength._**  
**_The courage endowed upon me by my one and only love._**  
**_Together, let us dismantle this crumbling world_**  
**_And write a novel of our own fantasies._**

**_With a flick of her pen, the lost finds her way._**  
**_In a world of infinite choices, behold this special day._**

**_After all,_**

**_Not all good times must come to an end_**

Matthew continued to think for hours before arriving at his conclusion: he would simply have to prove himself wrong.

Matthew ran out the door leaving his coat behind. It had started to rain, but he didn't care. He charged down the sidewalk at full speed. The amount of energy in his new, younger body was much greater than that of his previous one, and it made him feel invincible. Matthew knew what needed to be done, but he didn't know where to find her.

Soon, he had run out of breath.

* * *

Monika and Jacob ran hand in hand through the unoccupied sidewalks, trying to reach Jacob's house. It had begun to rain, shortly after they had started talking, and the two of them did not want to get completely soaked.

"So why would someone like you want to walk home with me?" Jacob asked Monika jokingly.

"Well, first of all we're running." she corrected. He gave her an empty laugh.

"Ha ha, yes of course we're running. Otherwise, I wouldn't be nearly out of breath."

"That just means you need to run more often."

"Hey... well, in all honesty that's probably true."

"See?" Monika smiled at him.

"Are you going to answer the question."

"Hold on, I'm still thinking."

"Seriously?"

"Okay fine. To tell you the truth you're the only person here who I could turn to. The whole club is in your reality now to my knowledge, but I wasn't with the others. I don't know anyone here or where **_here_** is for that matter."

"Oh well right now we're-"

They were halfway through the sprint, and Monika stopped, pulling Jacob toward her.

"What is it, Monika?" he asked.

"I'm tired of running in the rain. We might catch a cold, so I was thinking that we could take shelter in that coffee shop."

"I don't know if I have enough cash for it."

"So you're going to refuse to take me to a coffee shop now that I finally have the chance to enjoy it with you?" Monika looked towards Jacob with huge, pleading eyes and she began to pout like Natsuki would have done given the situation.

Jacob was pretty much helpless at this point.

"Okay. Let's hurry and get inside."

* * *

Once inside, Jacob was surrounded by dozens of pastries. Each one looked delicious, and the surrounded customers seemed to confirm his suspicions. Everywhere he turned, satisfied people were drinking their coffee and happily eating any assorted foods that they purchased to accompany their drink. With a single glance, Jacob could already tell that Monika was eagerly awaiting the chance to taste the food herself.

Jacob and Monika walked to a small table.

"So what would you like?" Jacob asked.

Monika thought for a moment then replied, "I'll have a bagel and an latte."

Afterwards, Jacob made his way over to the counter to order for both of them. There was a short line, so Jacob decided to check his wallet for cash before he made his decision on what to get.

_Crap_

Jacob suddenly realized that he only had ten dollars with him at the moment, which wouldn't be enough for both of them. Normally, he didn't go to stores after school, so he hadn't brought much extra cash with him. Jacob sighed and approached the counter.

"I'll take one bagel and one latte."

* * *

After receiving the bagel and beverage, Jacob returned to the table where Monika had been waiting for him. She surveyed the items he was carrying.

"Where's your drink?"

"Oh, uh... well I didn't have enough money for anything else, so I just got the things you wanted."

"That's so sweet of you."

"Yeah. Don't worry about it."

She surveyed the bagel and coffee.

"This bagel is much bigger than I thought," Monika said. Jacob nodded.

"Do you want to share it with me?"

Jacob thought about it.

"Maybe just one bite."

Monika took a piece off of her bagel and held it between her fingers. "Okay!" she said, "Open wide!"

* * *

Author note: I hope this isn't too bad of a character interaction. I didn't really know what to do, and I'm not so good with improvising (^▽^;). Next chapter will probably be mostly Jacob and Monika; with a side of the other dokis.


End file.
